This is a repeat of a conversation with sober bartender, musician and producer Ben. It also includes details of an upcoming Harm Reduction Victoria event - To commemorate International Overdose Awareness Day this year, we are having a big Community Feed, a Screening of the movie "Love, in a time of Fentanyl" and Naloxone training session with A nal…

Alan began eating addictively in mid-childhood. Soon he found himself stealing, sneaking and bingeing food. As an overweight teenager Alan would eat in isolation and in his adult life spent years trying to manage his weight through diets and exercise. But he continued to eat addictively even as it resulted in obesity and ill-health. At one stage he…

Paul talks about how he drank normally for most of his life and didn’t really start serious drinking until he was in his forties, when he began using alcohol to stem a sudden bout of severe anxiety. It felt so good that it became a necessity to start the day with a drink and end the day with quite a few drinks.Drinking alone, Paul was able to hide …

Robert shares his story of developing a gambling habit through underage gambling on poker machines with sports club teammates between training sessions. A country kid with a happy homelife growing up and a talent for sports, he had no family background in gambling or other addictions. Gambling consolidated in his late teens and by his early twentie…

Rhonda started life in Ontario, Canada, but as a young child moved with her alcoholic father and three siblings, without their mother, to another province, Alberta. Here she grew up with a father whose neglectful behaviour forced Rhonda and her siblings to fend for themselves. Rhonda took refuge in school and benefitted from the care of teachers wh…

Today on Living Free, our guest is Bill. Bill is an award winning photojournalist. Now retired from professional photography, Bill describes himself as a husband, father, photographer, songwriter, dog-lover, and author who is happily sober. You can hear three of Bill's songs in this episode, including the brand new Prodigal Daughter, based on the t…

Ben came on the show back in May 2022 when he was around 12 months sober in Alcoholics Anonymous. https://www.3cr.org.au/livingfree/episode/alcoholics-anonymous-ben-19may2022He’s returned to give us an update after another 2 years in his sobriety and to talk about how he lives now, without alcohol, and how his recovery has impacted his family, work…

Anthony's parents were a high-conflict couple and his father's behaviour changed when he drank. When his mother delivered Anthony, aged 4, his two siblings and their suitcases to an orphanage, he was suspicious that something wasn't right. His suspicions were confirmed when his mother did not return as promised. Soon foster carers were involved and…

Dr Patrick Pheasant is an addiction and trauma therapist who incorporates drama and role play into his practice, working with clients to recover from trauma via its manifestation in the mind and body. As well as his private practice, Patrick engages with addiction through his facilitation of two SMART Recovery groups focusing on the additional chal…

Today’s show covers an interview with Sally Kenyon, the senior lawyer of Homeless Law and Sam Horman, the lead designer of digital tools at Justice Connect. We are talking about preventing homelessness and how the new self-help tool Home of Your Own can assist renters facing family violence.If you would like to find out more about Justice Connect a…

Well, it’s been a big year since our last Radiothon, and this time Mitch could also join us to amp up the volume for this year’s show. Thanks to your generous support, by the end of the show, we had managed to raise $2,095 out of our target of $2,500. If you would like to support Living Free and 3CR then go to https://www.3cr.org.au/donate to see h…

This week on the Living Free show, Ann reads from the Al-Anon pamphlet A Merry-Go-Round Named Denial which outlines unhelpful ways well-meaning people surrounding alcoholics, including those closest to them, fall into unhelpful roles that contribute to the perpetuation of the illness.The pamphlet is available here https://al-anon.org.au/shop/a-merr…

Mitch introduces a roundup of latest news and initiatives relating to Drug and Alcohol issues in Australia and discusses them with Bill.Aus Alcohol Industry is suffering from less consumption than ever.Driving Trials for Medical Marijuana.New data indicates that Australia is projected to generate a staggering $15 billion in online gambling revenue …

Shaun, a Mununjali and Goorenpul man living with his family on Yuggara country, found recovery from addiction through SMART Recovery during a recovery retreat several years ago. It was the first recovery program that had spoken to him, showing the way through the problems of substance abuse that he felt he had been looking for. Realising that altho…

Rao Morusupalli is a comedian and part time astrophysics fan. He called in from Sydney to discuss what substance and alcohol use is like in Melbourne's standup comedy scene.저자 Mitch Boessen

Margie shares her story of beginning a poker machine dependency when her child first went to school. It was a relief from the responsibilities of single parenting and allowed her to forget about life’s pressures. Although it didn’t interfere with her work or life, gambling on the pokies meant that instead of having a comfortable life she was always…

In this episode, Ann and Mitch chat about how Al-Anon works as a world wide organisation in which people whose lives have been affected by another's drinking support each other to solve their common problems.저자 Ann and Mitch

Christine shares her story of dealing with her teenage son turning to recreational drug use, then developing mental illness and how she responded. Twenty years later she has a better perspective on the impact of this on herself, her son and her family. Dealing with the combination of drug addiction and mental illness had been challenging and learni…

Angelo shares his story of developing a gambling habit through his family’s interest in betting on horse racing. Sitting with his dad on Saturday afternoons placing bets and listening to the races moved from a social pleasure into a full-blown obsession that led to compulsive gambling from his late teens. Gambling soaked up all of Angelo’s spare ca…

Natalie grow up with an alcoholic father and a religious mother who kept the peace by avoiding conflict with the alcoholic. Feeling overlooked in her family, Natalie looked forward to a life independent of it. When she moved away to study and begin a career, she found that she still had to reckon with her family relationships, finding difficulties …

The child of migrant parents who worked long hours, Amanda remembers feeling isolated as a child. She remembers bingeing on food at the age of 8 and has spent many years struggling with compulsive over-eating, using food to calm herself whever she feel restless, irritable, discontented or otherwise uncomfortable. Overeaters Anonymous has shown Aman…

Dan grew up with normal parents but felt uncomfortable in the world. His insecurities and fears led to a nervous breakdown in his early teens. Dan discovered alcohol as a 16 yo and found that it relieved his overwhelming feeling of being different. Alcohol allowed him not to care about what others thought about him and, like many alcoholics, he con…

Alex talks about growing up with a dad who was dealing drugs and spent time in prison. He had a happy childhood but being without his father in his early teens he started drinking and the pain of losing him in his late teens sent him into a dependence on drugs. Alex managed to maintain his job initially but eventually the impact of drug use meant h…

Nadine grew up with a father who drank and a mother who suffered from depression. Her mother died when Nadine was 13 and after an unsettled few years in the care of an aunt and then a housekeeper, Nadine found herself married at 16 to a drinker. During the marriage she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital where she overheard her husband commentin…

Ellie has struggled with the texture and taste of certain foods her whole life. This has resulted in social anxiety and guilt over not being able to eat healthy food during school. Since graduating and moving out, Ellie's relationship with food has improved and she explains where she's at now with some perspective.…

James talks about growing up as an Aboriginal in Western District of Victoria, how alcohol affected his family and how alcohol and drug abuse became part of his life as he dealt with early trauma and PTSD. Sport was a constant during James’ life, providing an opportunity for participation and enduring friendships. Inevitably, his alcohol and drug u…

Jennie grew up with young parents and had a disadvantaged childhood. Eager to fit in she learnt early to not reveal much of herself and just reflect the values of others. Jennie found moving from the UK to Australia in her early teens quite traumatic and in her late teens left home and went to live with acquaintances in St Kilda. Her reasonably qui…

Mandy grew up in a household dominated by an angry father who, from the time Mandy was three years old, was a sober alcoholic. Her mother was passive and the other members of the family fell into roles that made sense to them to manage the situation. Mandy tried to be the 'good girl' who didn't cause any trouble. As an adult Mandy had her first chi…

Replay of a show from 16 January 2020 with updated music and announcementsCarol grew up in a family affected by her dad’s drinking and violent behaviour. Feeling like the black sheep of the family she started drinking around 12 years old - alcohol changed her perception of reality and she only wanted to drink if she could get drunk. Alcohol led to …

Andrew shares his story of developing a gambling habit through pokies in his late teens. It provides an insight into the progression of his gambling addiction, about the effect of alcohol and how it often accompanied his gambling. Andrew also shares about his initial contact with Gamblers Anonymous and of not taking recovery seriously until it affe…

Damian talks about the Ngwala Willumbong Aboriginal Corporation, that exists to meet the needs of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander People, their families, and their communities. Ngwala seeks to drive positive change and healing by focusing on a variety of services such as alcohol and drug treatment and recovery, housing, homelessness, and a rang…

Robbert has been off the punt for 18 years thanks to help from Gamblers Anonymous and talks about how he was introduced to gambling in his late teens and early twenties around Sydney’s casinos and nightclubs. He talks about his first big win and how he ploughed it all back into the pokies, plus more the next day. Robbert’s life deteriorated as he s…

Dan, a member of Al-Anon, grew up in a household in which another person's drinking was out of control. One of his parents was safe and nurturing during the day but in the evenings became a more dangerous presence. This inconsistency resulted in Dan feeling confused about how to trust people and eventually angry and distant from his parents. At 15 …

Rebecca is studying policy reform online at university. We discuss her perception of drugs and alcohol growing up, how it's effected her today and speculate what the future of drug reform might look like.저자 Mitch with Rebecca

Lois grew up in a family that did not talk much about feelings. She did not have the language to understand her feelings until she was diagnosed with depression. Later, with the stresses of parentling, body dysmorphia and widely fluctuating weight, Lois found her way to Overeaters Anonymous. Despite her initial reluctance to accept the spiritual as…

Dan grew up with normal parents but felt uncomfortable in the world. His insecurities and fears led to a nervous breakdown in his early teens, and he was medicated for anxiety from about 13 years old. Dan discovered alcohol at 16 and found that it relieved his overwhelming feeling of being different. Alcohol made his life appear normal and like man…

At the time of this interview Ryan had been off the punt for 85 days. He had friends at school who had gambling accounts, but it wasn’t until he turned 18 that he had his own betting account and started gambling in earnest. His first big win gave him a real buzz and he realized “how easy was that”. It also stroked his ego and set him up for social …

The youngest of five children, Teresa's spent her childhood moving several times between England and Australia. She found it difficult to make friends and did not enjoy school. Because of this, in an effort to protect her, Teresa's mother allowed her to stay home from school whenever she wanted to. Teresa felt that she was overprotected in other wa…

Tami identifies as a binge eater and was greatly relieved to find, at her first Overeaters Anonymous meeting, that she was not the only one. Coming out of isolation into the company of friendly people who had faced the problems that she thought were unique to her, was the first step on Tami's recovery from her disordered thinking about food and lif…

Carol grew up with an alcoholic father and became an alcoholic herself. She describes starting drinking at 12 years old with her father, escaping the alcoholic home in her mid-teens and how alcohol became part of her social fabric. Carol went on to marry an alcoholic and when they separated her drinking took her and her young daughter on an alcohol…

Gerard started underage betting on horseracing as a 14-year-old and as his gambling passion increased his school performance suffered. Form-guide betting on the horses with friends as a 17-year-old was a weekly event and he used part-time jobs to cover his losses. It wasn’t until a traffic accident as a 19-year-old that Gerard started isolating and…

Andrea was born in the early 1960's in a traditional family with an authoritarian father who believed that sons should have preferential treatment over daughters. Both her parents were addicted to alcohol and she learned not to talk too much to avoid her parents' anger. When Andrea left the family home she fell in love with a man who did not drink …

This is the second of two discussions with Richard about the practice of the 12 Steps. Richard is a member of AA, Al-Anon and, more recently, Nicotine Anonymous. In this episode we discuss Steps 6-12. Discussion of the first 5 Steps can be found in the episode on 7 September 23. If you think that Al-Anon could help you cope with someone else’s prob…

Rod talks about the effects of alcoholism on his life and the benefits of recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous. He was labelled a “good kid” which he didn’t like and found that alcohol gave him the freedom to muck up a bit on weekends. Rod started underage drinking in high school and was able to appear normal most of the time, but no-one saw his drinki…

Michael shares his gambling journey and how his pokies addiction eventually meant that he would gamble even though he knew he would get found out. He had to get help to save his marriage and Michael found Gamblers Anonymous and that enabled him to break the isolation, understand his addiction and address his real gambling problems.Michael also shar…

Richard is returning to Living Free to discuss in detail the practice of the 12 Steps that are the foundation of many recovery programs. The 12 Steps were conceived by founding members of AA, Bill W and Dr Bob, in the USA in 1935 as a spiritually-based (but non-religious) pathway out of alcoholism. In this episode, Richard and Ann discuss how they …

Ben talks about the impact sobriety had on his career as a bar manager and as a musician. Sobriety can be difficult to commit to at any stage in life, but can be even more difficult going into your early twenties due to social stigma and other factors. Ben had people in his extended family who experiemented with drug use, and started experimenting …

Stuart talks about the effects of alcoholism on his life and the benefits of recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous. His dad left the family early and his family was poor, so he felt these effects during his early schooling. Stuart formed friendships with kids in similar positions and started drinking around 16 years old and using marijuana when he was a…

John talks about the effects of alcoholism on his life and the benefits of recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous. His dad was an alcoholic who eventually found AA and although John avoided alcohol in his early teens, he could not resist it after graduating from secondary school. John frequently drank to blackout but didn’t think that his own drinking wa…